Attendance Steady, Budget Balanced for 2017 Manitoba Museum Season

The Manitoba Museum’s Nonsuch gallery will be the first to be renewed as part of a capital campaign. (TOURISM WINNIPEG)

The Manitoba Museum celebrated another year of solid attendance and excellent financial health Thursday night.

At the museum’s AGM, outgoing Board Chair Scott Craig highlighted the year’s successes, including the Canada 150 exhibition, the renewal of the Nonsuch Gallery, World’s Giant Dinosaurs exceeding attendance targets and their outreach project, called Spirit Lines, winning the Governor General’s History Award.

The museum’s budget was balanced thanks to increased admission revenues, donations and sponsorships and growth in museum memberships, said Craig.

“We remain fiscally responsible with a continued commitment to balanced budgets. This, along with prestigious accreditation from Imagine Canada, puts the Museum in a position of strength to continue advancing the$17.5 million Bringing Our Stories Forward Capital & Endowment Campaign to ensure the Museum remains relevant for future generations of Manitobans,” he added.

Overall attendance to the Museum during the 2017-2018 fiscal year was 303,191,down about 4,000 people from 2016, including 74,596 student visits for school-based programs and 45,689 complimentary visits through the Access for All community initiative.